Lay summary
Palliative care in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) aims to support quality of life until death, while also supporting family, whānau, and caregivers throughout this process, often into bereavement. The palliative care needs of tamariki and rangitahi in NZ has been recognised since 1998 and acknowledged in the NZ Palliative Care Strategy. Paediatric palliative care (PPC) has not kept pace with adult palliative care and a corresponding development of services to meet these needs are lacking. The ethnic and cultural aspect to effective access to PPC remains poorly understood. This is compounded by inadequate and outdated data on the need for PPC and the burden of life-limiting illnesses in tamariki and rangitahi, particularly those of Pacific (and Māori) descent. The proposed research recognises the importance of identifying the barriers and facilitators to PPC provision for all tamariki and rangitahi in NZ, but will (initially) focus on those of Pacific descent.